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29 March 2004
ISO offers free-of-charge ISO 9001:2000 'auditing kit'
Twenty guidance modules on specific aspects of auditing ISO 9001:2000 quality management systems (QMS) are available free of charge from ISO and another three are being developed.
Short, easy to read and understand, the guidance modules that make up the "auditing kit" adopt a practical, "how to" approach. They have been developed mainly for certification body personnel carrying out audits of quality systems for organizations seeking an ISO 9001:2000 certificate as independent confirmation of their implementation of ISO's well-known standard.
However, they may also be useful to staff carrying out in-house audits to provide assurance to management about the performance of their organization's quality system, as well as to consultants, trainers and anyone with an interest in quality.
The guidance modules are not endorsed by ISO and are not a product of its standards-development processes. The documents are intended to provide additional assistance to ISO 9001:2000 users, without modifying any of the requirements of the standard.
The documents are being developed by the ISO 9001:2000 Auditing Practices Group (APG) established by ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and the IAF (International Accreditation Forum -
www.iaf.nu) - the grouping of national accreditation bodies that verify the competence of certification bodies. The documents are available on the APG Web site at: *** DEAD LINK REMOVED*** - WAS isotc176sc2.elysium-ltd.net / APG_index.html
The 20 documents so far developed by the APG address the following specific issues in ISO 9001:2000 auditing:
The need for a two-stage approach to auditing
Measuring QMS effectiveness and improvements
Identification of processes
Understanding the process approach
Determination of the "where appropriate" processes
Auditing the "where appropriate" requirements
Demonstrating conformity to the standard
Linking an audit of a particular task, activity or process to the overall system
Auditing continual improvement
Auditing a QMS which has minimum documentation
How to audit top management processes
The role and value of the audit checklist
Scope of ISO 9001:2000, scope of QMS and defining scope of certification
Value-added auditing
Auditing competence and the effectiveness of actions taken
Effective use of ISO 19011:2002, Guidelines for quality and/or environmental management systems auditing
Auditing statutory and regulatory requirements
Auditing quality policy and quality objectives
Auditing the control of monitoring and measuring devices.
The APG recently agreed to develop additional documents on the three following topics:
Auditing customer satisfaction
Writing nonconformities that are understandable, useful and therefore add value
Reviewing responses to nonconformities to assure correction and corrective action that is effective.
A link to the documents on the APG Web site is provided too in the ISO 9000 section on ISO's main Web site. This section also includes the latest versions of the free-of-charge documents comprising the ISO 9000:2000 Introduction and Support Package - another initiative by ISO to facilitate the understanding and implementation of its quality system standards. In addition, the section has a wide choice of free sample articles from ISO's bimonthly magazine ISO Management Systems, which provides a worldwide overview of the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 families of quality and environmental management standards, including implementation case studies, survey, analyses, viewpoints and debates.
Press contact:
Roger Frost
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Tel. +41 22 749 01 11
Fax +41 22 733 34 30
